Equipment Secured

Who was Egghead?

Black Widow froze for a moment. Then the image of the director’s dark, shiny bald head surfaced in her mind, followed by the thought of the thirteen tea eggs he had eaten in one sitting that night. Her expression became indescribably strange.

Come to think of it, he really did look like one!

Master Wang, when you dragged Egghead… uh, when you dragged the director out to eat tea eggs that day, you did it on purpose, didn’t you?

"Fitz and Simmons heard that the user’s physical abilities were no weaker than Captain America’s, and they were very interested in you, so they requested to personally deliver the equipment."

Black Widow lowered her voice. "If they make any excessive requests… you can refuse. Don’t underestimate their curiosity. Scientists can be crazy sometimes—crazier than I am."

Even if scientists were crazy enough to be interested in Hulk, they would never be interested in you in quite that way… Old Wang smiled. "I’ll try not to refuse."

Being interested was good. The more interested they were, the better. As long as they were willing to come with me, I’d agree to any excessive request. Even if they wanted my essence for experiments, I’d give it to them!

These days, capable scientists were all impressive. People like Tony Stark, Banner, and Pym-Hank were not only incredibly proud, but also fully grown adults with mature minds. They were not easy to fool.

Unlike the two inside. At the very least, they were second-rate scientists now. In a couple of years, they would definitely reach first-rate level. In five or six years, they would probably become top-tier scientists. Yet they had only just come of age, were still young people fresh out of the ivory tower, trainee agents with no field experience. Luring them away would be at least three difficulty levels easier.

In an instant, Old Wang came up with seven or eight plans.

Black Widow froze again, unable to understand what had gotten into Master Wang today. Why was he suddenly so agreeable?

She had heard some of Fitz and Simmons’s excessive requests. They included tissue biopsy tests, body fluid sampling and analysis, deep comprehensive examinations, chip implantation for real-time monitoring, reproductive and endocrine system evaluations, and more. Any Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had an obligation to cooperate, but Master Wang was not an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. He was merely a partner.

In truth, both the director and she herself were very interested in Master Wang.

If not for their concerns about the Immortal Iron Fist and K’un-Lun behind him, and if not for their need for the mysterious and powerful K’un-Lun as an ally, then judging by Egghead’s personality, he might really have forcibly captured Master Wang and thrown him into The Laboratory. He was no good person!

They would feed him well, treat him well, wait on him with needles and scalpels, monitor him around the clock every day of the year, and at worst, arrange a few beautiful women to keep him company. Egghead had no bottom line.

If Master Wang was truly willing to cooperate, it would be a good thing for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Maybe they could even research something useful.

"Then thank you very much."

Black Widow rarely thanked anyone. Then she puffed out her chest, swiped her card, and opened the door.

Five hundred ducks instantly stopped quacking.

The first thing that came into view was two young figures, a man and a woman, both freshly of age and around Skye’s age.

Doctors at that age were rare. There were only a few in the entire world, and Simmons was even a double PhD.

Tony Stark, the future Iron Man and one of the greatest scientists on Earth in the Marvel Universe, had graduated from MIT at seventeen. Yet at seventeen, Simmons was already a double PhD in biology and chemistry.

That did not mean Simmons was more capable than Iron Man, but it at least showed that Simmons was truly exceptional.

Since a double PhD served as Fitz’s assistant, Fitz was obviously even more exceptional.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s two greatest scientists were making equipment for him. Had Egghead’s head been trapped between Black Widow’s legs, or had Hawkeye shot it with an arrow?

Old Wang was ready to poach them, but his gaze drifted to the table in the center.

Two open cases sat on the table.

In the case on the left lay a short alloy staff around twenty centimeters long. Two sections were actually gold, while the rest were red. The surface was not smooth, but covered in all kinds of blue-green relief carvings: eagle claws, deer antlers, tiger paws, and scales resembling those of a snake.

Could it be a dragon?

Not a five-clawed golden dragon, but a five-clawed Azure Dragon?

I’m fucking not the Azure Dragon!

Old Wang grumbled inwardly and looked at the other case.

Inside were two gold-and-red alloy gauntlets.

Their sharp, retractable claws gleamed with cold light. Their decorative dragon patterns, exquisite articulated joints, and every other detail looked beautiful, luxurious, and high-end.

Good stuff!

Never mind the actual performance—just judging by the appearance, they were far better than gnome and goblin engineering gauntlets.

The moment Fitz and Simmons saw Old Wang arrive, their eyes lit up. Realizing that he was the user of the Titanium Alloy Staff and Titanium Alloy Gauntlets, they hurriedly began chattering away with introductions.

"The color scheme and surface relief carvings were designed after consulting Agent Mei."

"In China, gold represents nobility and red represents celebration. Chinese people call themselves ‘descendants of the dragon.’ Blue-green symbolizes endless vitality, while ‘qi’ is life energy itself, so they were a perfect match."

"They were made with high-powered laser engraving and 3D printing technology."

"Simmons and I spent an entire week completing the design. We revised the blueprints ten times, and the Technology Department’s best technical team handled the manufacturing. Agent Romanoff’s equipment was made by them as well."

They chattered on and on, using plenty of technical terms that Old Wang could not understand. It was a scientist’s common failing.

The rest was unimportant. Old Wang only cared about two things.

One was what Simmons said: she mentioned the total cost of the gauntlets and staff, a figure enough to buy an apartment on the Beijing Second Ring Road.

The other was what Fitz said. With some regret, he explained that if funding had not been tight and the director had not forbidden it, making the entire set from Gold-Titanium Alloy would have been even better. But the cost would have multiplied several times over.

Egghead, I’ll remember this!

"Don’t move. This is for you."

Simmons stepped closer, rose onto her tiptoes, and implanted a tiny chip into Old Wang’s lower lip. Nodding in satisfaction, she said, "The latest miniature receiver-controller. It combines engineering and biology, automatically connects to your nerve endings, and uses voice control transmitted through muscle and bone. It’s safe, efficient, and discreet… Want to try it?"

Old Wang had lived three lifetimes, so he was no fool. Besides, he had encountered plenty of goblin and gnome "high-tech equipment" in this life and had experience with strange devices like this. He quickly got the hang of it.

It really was easy to use.

The nine sections of the staff could be connected together, with the internal mechanisms automatically locking into place. It could be disassembled as needed, and if necessary, a mere movement of his lips would release short, thick, sturdy Gold-Titanium Alloy chains from within, turning it into a nine-section whip.

He could even launch one or several sections, call them back, and make them discharge electricity!

Of course, Old Wang still liked its staff form best. It was about 180 centimeters long, slightly taller than an eyebrow-height staff. In any case, Old Wang was still growing, so it would suit him even better in the future.

Most importantly, it was gold on both ends and red in the middle, covered in Eastern Azure Dragon relief carvings. It looked incredibly badass.

The more he looked at it, the more it gave him the feeling of a Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Agent Melinda May, who had been responsible for the appearance design, must have been a fan of The Great Sage Equal to Heaven too, right?

The gauntlets were just as useful.

Technologically, these two pieces of equipment were roughly comparable to epic gnome engineering gear, though their materials were somewhat inferior.

Whether Titanium Alloy or Gold-Titanium Alloy, neither could compare to the Mithril or Adamantite produced by World of Warcraft, much less Thorium or Arcanite. Once he had more resources later, he should get some good materials from World of Warcraft and let Fitz and Simmons study and design them.

Maybe they could make something even more badass than Captain America’s Vibranium shield!

Ding!

Suddenly, Black Widow frowned.

The former person in charge of the base spoke through her earpiece. "Agent Romanoff, the instructors and trainees have started fighting. It’s serious!"

Serious?

Black Widow raised an eyebrow.

The elite agents who had undergone the harshest training would naturally be unconvinced about being trained by a group of outside instructors. Challenges were normal, and it was even a good thing. You got to know someone by fighting them, after all. It could also deepen the instructors’ and trainees’ understanding of each other, benefiting the training that followed.

The problem was that it was serious!

Could it be that a hundred elite agents had ganged up and beaten Master Wang’s disciples senseless?

No, I have to take a look!

"Sorry, I have something to deal with. You two carry on." Black Widow decided to handle it first, then tell Master Wang afterward, so he would not be unhappy at the sight of the miserable scene.

The moment she left, Old Wang looked at Simmons with a grin and remarked, "Good stuff! This staff alone costs more than two years of my salary. Too bad it isn’t free. I’m going to bleed heavily for this!"

Simmons froze, then blurted out, "Two years? It’s worth ten years of my salary!"

Hearing that, Old Wang smiled.

PS: The update schedule needs to stay consistent. From now on, there will be one update at eight in the morning and one at eight in the evening, starting tonight.